Ben's Parents
by Jestana
Summary: Abigail hears about Ben's mother before she goes to meet her.


**Ben's Parents**

"Patrick, do you mind if I ask you a question?" Abigail Chase requested of her boyfriend's father as they sat drinking coffee in his living room.

Patrick Henry Gates shook his head, smiling as he gazed at the young woman he hoped would be his daughter-in-law one day. "No, not at all, Abigail. What's your question?"

"Why did you ask if I was pregnant the night we met?" she asked, causing Benjamin Franklin Gates, who was sitting next to her, to choke on the sip of coffee he'd just taken.

Patrick watched with amusement as Abigail solicitously pounded on Ben's back to help clear his lungs. Once his son was no longer in danger of asphyxiating, Abigail turned back to Patrick with an expectant look. "Didn't you ask Ben?"

"Yes, and he said something about you having old-fashioned ideas about love and dating." She glanced at her boyfriend with a fond smile.

Patrick, on the other hand, gave his son an exasperated look. "That's not why I asked."

"You _are_ a little old-fashioned," Ben responded defensively, carefully setting his coffee cup on the coffee table. "Why else haven't you re-married in thirty years?"

Abigail looked back and forth between the two men, finally holding up her hands to prevent further discussion. "Ben, Patrick, please. Can you answer my original question?"

"Of course, Abigail." He gave his son a glance of fond exasperation before turning to Abigail. "When my mother met my father's parents, she was pregnant and Ben's mother was pregnant when she met _my_ father."

A smirk curved Abigail's lips as she glanced speculatively at her boyfriend. "So you were wondering if I was Ben's future bride? Interesting."

"What else was I to think when you two showed up on my doorstep in evening clothes?" Patrick asked with arched eyebrows, smirking at his son's obvious discomfort and embarrassment. "For all I knew, you two had been dating for some time and Ben had decided it was time for me to meet my future grandchild."

Abigail stifled her laughter long enough to safely set down her coffee cup. Then she simply collapsed against Ben, laughing helplessly. He looked annoyed at first, but a reluctant smile soon appeared, only to be replaced moments later by a frown. "Wait. I know for a fact that you were born several years after Grandpa and Grandma married. Why don't I have an uncle or aunt on your side of the family?"

That simple question caused Abigail's laughter to fade quickly and she looked at Patrick curiously. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, remembering the sadness in his eyes when John Adams Gates had explained why Patrick was an only child. "Because that baby was stillborn."

"Oh." Sadness and sympathy appeared on Abigail's face and she reached over to squeeze Patrick's hand comfortingly. "That must have been horrible for them."

"It was and my parents didn't try to have another baby for several years as a result." He returned the squeeze with a smile, touched that Abigail understood. "I found this out when Em was pregnant with Ben and I worried that we might face the same situation." He smiled fondly at his son. "We were very grateful that we didn't."

Abigail smiled and sat back, nestling against Ben's side. He smiled and kissed the top of her head, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad he wasn't stillborn."

"_I'm_ glad I wasn't stillborn," Ben added, grinning playfully.

When their chuckles subsided, Abigail requested softly, "Will you tell me about Ben's mother?"

"She hasn't met Emily yet?" Patrick asked his son, surprised.

Ben looked sheepish. "Um, I was planning on doing that soon."

"Wait, from what you said, I thought she was dead." Abigail sat up, looking from son to father and back again. "She's still alive?"

Sighing, Patrick got up and walked over to the fireplace, plucking up one of the photos and offering to Abigail. "That's Emily Appleton, about thirty years ago. Not long after that picture was taken, she left me."

"Are we talking about _the_ Emily Appleton?" Abigail asked, studying the picture of a beautiful woman standing with an adorable little boy who had to be Ben at nine or ten years old and a much younger-looking Patrick. "The pre-eminent expert on ancient Native American languages and history? _She's_ Ben's mom?"

Ben nodded, looking sheepish. "Yeah, she's my mom. Do you know her?"

"I've only ever heard of her." Abigail returned the picture to Patrick, who placed it back on the mantelpiece. "She teaches at the University of Maryland, right?"

Patrick kept his back to the other two, removing his glasses to polish them. Behind him, Ben answered his girlfriend's question, "Yes, she'll probably take over as the department chair when the current chair retires."

"I've heard that she's very formidable, both as a teacher and a person." Abigail sounded nervous.

Patrick finished wiping his eyes and put his glasses back on, turning to face the other two. "You have nothing to worry about, Abigail. Em will love you."

"How can you be sure, Dad?" Ben demanded. "You haven't seen her in close to thirty years."

He gave his son an exasperated look. "Abigail makes you happy, Ben. That's what will count most for Em. I'm sure of it."

"Why haven't you seen her?" asked Abigail gently. "Are you two that mad at each other?"

Patrick shook his head. "We're not mad at each other. We just decided it would be better if we didn't see each other."

"You two would only start arguing anyway," Ben offered with a smirk. He glanced at Abigail. "Mom and Dad were _always_ fighting when I was little. I think it was their way of flirting."

Abigail giggled, blue eyes dancing with amusement. Patrick sighed, conceding the point. More often than not, an argument with Emily had ended with them in bed together, exhausted by their lovemaking.

***

"Please, Dr. Appleton, just this once?" Casey Ryer requested, sounding desperate. "I won't turn in work late again, I promise."

Dr. Emily Appleton gave the tall, dark-haired student a stern look over the tops of her glasses. "I'm sorry, Mr. Ryer, but I stated quite clearly at the beginning of the semester that I don't accept _any_ late work."

"What about extra credit? Maybe I can make up the points that way." Casey had gotten up from his chair and leaned on the desk, almost looming over the petite blonde.

Unfortunately for Casey, Emily wasn't even fazed. She simply stood up and handed his late assignment back to him. "You obviously didn't read the syllabus. I don't _do_ extra credit. If you can't be bothered to complete the work I assign, why did you sign up for my class?"

"My father--" Casey began, his eyes darkening with anger.

Emily cut him off with a disdainful look. "Your father is a good friend of mine and he would agree with what I've just told you. If that's the best you can do, you may leave now." Annoyed, Casey grabbed his bookbag and stormed out of the office, muttering something about talking to his father. Emily shook her head and sat back down, turning her attention to the papers scattered on the desk in front of her. She didn't look up when the door opened. "If you've come to turn in a late paper, you can turn right back around and leave."

"Hi, Mom." Benjamin's familiar voice caught Emily's attention and she looked up with a smile.

"Benjamin! This is a pleasant surprise." She got up and moved around her desk to greet him with a tight hug and a kiss on his cheek. "What brings you here?"

He turned and gestured to the door, where a lovely young woman waited, blonde hair pulled back from her face and wearing a blouse and skirt. "Mom, this is Dr. Abigail Chase. Abigail, my mother, Dr. Emily Appleton."

"It's an honor to meet you, Dr. Appleton," Abigail offered her hand with a polite yet nervous smile.

Emily shook the younger woman's hand with a warm smile. "It's a large pleasure to meet _you_, Dr. Chase. Ben's told me so much about you."

"He has?" Abigail glanced up at Benjamin, looking more nervous now. "What sort of things has he told you?"

Offering a reassuring smile, Emily patted Abigail's hand. "Nothing terrible, I assure you."

"Mom, we were wondering if you'd like to join us for lunch?" Ben interjected, his cheeks looking a little pink at that.

Emily stared at her son, puzzled, and glanced over at the clock. The digital numbers indicated it was half-past twelve. "Oh, my. I hadn't realized the time."

"Will you join us, then?" Ben asked, blue-gray eyes glinting with amusement.

She nodded, smiling. "I'd love to. Just let me get my coat and purse."

"We won't be going anywhere without you," he assured her with a fond smile.

Emily reached up and ruffled his hair like she used to do when he was little and moved behind her desk to retrieve both items. She pulled her coat on as she walked towards Ben and Abigail, pausing when Ben moved behind her to help her with it. "Thanks, Sweetheart."

"You're welcome, Mom." Ben smiled and gestured for Emily to lead them out of the office.

She did just that and locked the door behind them once Ben and Abigail had exited. "So, where are we going?"

"Just the little diner down the street," Ben told her, offering his arms to Emily and Abigail. "I hope you don't mind that it's nothing fancy."

"Not at all. I'm just glad to spend time with both of you." Emily made sure to include Abigail who seemed rather bashful.

Abigail offered a shy smile. "I'm flattered, Dr. Appleton."

"Emily, please, Dr. Chase," she requested gently. "I don't like being so formal."

Abigail nodded, looking less bashful now. "Only if you call me Abigail."

"Deal." Emily smiled, already liking Abigail. _She was just nervous. Probably worried about making a good impression…_

End


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